Danganronpa: Spirits of Hope's Peak Academy
by MatrVincent
Summary: In the confines of Hope's Peak Academy, 15 students have been forced into a killing game, having to murder each other in order to escape the school. Rebelling has resulted in the revelation that their loved ones' lives are at stake, and Sayaka Maizono is murdered trying to kill another. But is she really dead? She has awoken in her bed, and things are for sure stranger than before.
1. Prologue

**Hello reader! Thank you for taking time to check out this fan fiction, and I hope that it is worth your time to read through it.**

 **This fan fiction is based on the video game, manga, and anime series "Dangan Ronpa", a murder-mystery series about high school students forced into a Killing Game by a psychopathic bear named Monokuma, yadda yadda... probably the premise of a lot of DR fanfics, I understand. Here's to hoping this one breaks the trend somewhat.**

 **Unlike other fanfics, this one tells a story of what happens to the students after they are to reach... untimely demises. The goal for this is to give the characters who received less focus in the games more character development, while giving an interactive experience for the reader to tag along with the series as new chapters are released. Expect to see a lot of emotion in my writing as well, to give a better picture of the reality of the characters' situations, and to really give an understanding to what emotions the characters are going through, hopefully in a believable way.**

 **It doesn't matter if you are a fan of Danganronpa or not, this isn't fully exclusive to its fanbase. The first chapter of this series is a prologue, explaining the backstory of the first DR game, reviewing what happened in the prologue and early Chapter 1 of the game so you don't have to look at gameplay to understand the story. Once you are done the prologue, the true direction of the story will begin.**

 **And with that, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

It should've been the best thing that ever happened to their lives. Fifteen students, all of whom had high hopes and dreams. All of them that could've made a lasting difference of the world as they knew it. They could've had the power to shape the world together, as they saw fit. All because they had been accepted into Hope's Peak Academy, a high school for students with especially high talents. Only a handful of people were chosen each year, and it was every high school student's dream to be accepted into the academy, and yet, here they were. All of them had been accepted into the school.

It should've been a dream come true. Unfortunately, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare even psychopaths would never dream of. And that nightmare was reality.

Taking their first steps into Hope's Peak Academy, they were all stunned with dizziness, and all collapsed. When they awoke, they found themselves in the school, only that something was clearly off about it. Doors had been locked, windows barred by metal sheets. Any connection to the outside world had been removed from their lives in what seemed to be only an hour.

All waking from sleep, they met one another. All of them were the same; they were all supposed 'ultimates', a term used to describe a high school student who is _the best at what they do._ They were to all be in the same class, and all of them were now in the same situation. discovered the predicament that faced them. Their friends, their families, anyone who cared for them; They had no way to see them, and they had no idea why.

But things were only to get worse. They soon learned from a high-tech animatronic, who claimed his name to be Monokuma, that in order to see the real world ever again, they were to do something they should've never have thoughts of in their entire lives.

They were to kill one another.

In order to escape the confines of the school, they had to commit a murder, and get away with it. If they failed, they would be executed by Monokuma, but if they succeeded, they would escape, at the expense of everyone else's lives. It was at this moment when the students had realized that, while they might never potentially murder someone, who was to say that another student felt the same? Any content word they spoke could be a devious lie, and any friendly action... a call of death. How could they trust anyone? How could they prove to anyone that they themselves could be trusted?

After a few days, nothing had happened. The students spent most of their day forcefully confined to the academy's first floor, looking for a method of escape. Hope continued to disappear that they might never be saved, and not before long… a drastic turn was made.

One day, Monokuma approached the students about the lack of action, and presented an additional motive. Videos of people the students loved dear. It was refreshing to see their faces again, to have some incentive to keep believing. The issue was, however, that this was not an ordinary video.

One by one, each video displayed the shocking image of a destroyed filming location, or loved ones collapsed on the ground, all of which at the hands of Monokuma himself. Were they dead? The students did not know, but the thought that their loved ones might be deceased… it nearly pushed many over the edge. Many contemplated murder, while others tried to provide comfort and reassurance to friends, but with that feeling of distrust in the air, no one felt safe.

And one student ultimately made the decision to get out of the school.

This was the situation of _Sayaka Maizono_ , the Ultimate Pop Sensation. Before she enrolled at Hope's Peak, she had been the most popular teen idol in all of the country, and was the lead of a famous female pop group. All of the members of the group were incredibly close friends of hers, of whom she cared deeply for. However, the video she witnessed showed her friends supposedly deceased on the floor, the pop group "no more", according to the eerie voice in the video. Monokuma's voice. And this video was the pushing point for Sayaka to commit murder.

She sat curled up on her bed, pillow in her hands. She was in tears, no longer possessing an ability to hold back her emotions. She had to get out. She had to find out what had happened to her friends. And then… she had an idea that drove her to insanity.

She contemplated who would be her target, to whom she decided on Leon Kuwata, the ultimate baseball star. He had grown rather close to her, claiming that he wanted to switch his title to the ultimate musician, and had come to her for advice. She decided to privately invite him via letter to lure him into a trap that would ultimately kill him.

But she also had to get away with the murder, and if she were to act in her room, she would be convicted almost immediately. She would also have to act after nighttime began, in order to avoid the risk of being caught, and the other sections of the school were forbidden at night. Luckily, she had a solution to this; she would use another student's room as the scene of the crime.

Not just any student's room, however. She decided on using Makoto Naegi's room. Makoto and Sayaka apparently went to the same elementary school together, and due to having that past connection, they had grown very close after the game began. He trusted her with his life, and that's what she was counting on.

Before nighttime officially began, she approached Makoto at the door to his room, and requested that they talk. She created a false claim that someone tried to force their way into her room, and came to Makoto for comfort. She was able to influence Makoto to propose a plan for them to swap rooms; if it was the best way to make her feel safe. But Sayaka wasn't scared for her life. Rather, she no longer had a life because of the damned game, and she was going to get her life back, no matter the cost.

Makoto was trusting enough to give insight to his room; where things were, how to find them, and even told her about his busted bathroom door. Apparently, his door didn't fit into the doorframe correctly, and thus, there was a certain way to open it that you had to use every single time you wanted to go in there. The fact that Makoto was supposedly the Ultimate lucky student… it was the only shred of joy Sayaka would experience that night.

Prior to meeting with Makoto, she had snuck a knife from the kitchen, and composed a letter asking her target, Leon, to meet her in what was supposedly her room at 1:15 am. She saw Makoto off when nighttime officially began, at 10:00 pm, so she anxiously waited for her opportunity to arrive.

Tick, tock, tick, tock… that was all she heard aside her thoughts for several hours.

Could she really go through with something like this?

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She quickly shook her head to shake her genuinity. If she were to hesitate, she would never get this opportunity ever again. If she were to fail, she would be alive among fourteen other students who could never trust her ever again…

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

Not even Makoto…

Sayaka thought of Makoto. What would he think of her if he found out what she tried to do? He could never forgive her, as naïve as he was. He was too kindhearted. Knowing she exploited their trust to kill a friend, it'd be insane to forgive something like that. It was irrational.

But Sayaka had no intention to focus on what was rational and what wasn't. Thoughts like that would get her killed. She had to suppress them to the blackest reaches of her mind, or she'd be dead before she could even realize the mistake she'd make.

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

Sayaka got up from the bed. Time was almost upon her, and she had to make her move when it appeared. It was five minutes until Leon was to appear at the door. She had swapped the nameplates of her's and Makoto's room, so it seemed as if the room she was in was truly hers, and not Makoto's. Instead of going to her actual room, Leon would come to Makoto's room instead. He would find the door unlocked, and would curiously inspect the room that was supposedly hers. That's when she would make her move.

If her plan succeeded, she would switch back the nameplates, and all she would have to do is remove evidence that she had been in Makoto's room. Makoto would be the prime suspect with an incredible amount of evidence against him, and she would simply have to deny the claims that they had swapped rooms as a stressed lie, and she would have her freedom. She hid behind the wall, waiting for the opportunity to arrive.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...

There was, however, a flaw in her plan, that ultimately became reality.

She never considered the situation in which Leon would overpower her.

 _*Click*_

* * *

 **So that was the prologue to the story. Now, to answer some questions you may have.**

 **Yes, Sayaka Maizono will be the main protagonist of this story, but each student will be focused upon throughout. That being said, don't expect to see all of the students here. At the very least, the select few students who made it to the end of the game will only have mentions, and won't appear physically. The possibility isn't ruled out, however.**

 **A main premise of the original series is that, when a murder is committed, the culprit has to get away with it in a Class Trial. In the trial, the students go over evidence they found, and try to reach an agreeable and conclusive ending that points to the true culprit. If the real killer is voted guilty, only they get executed, but if they vote the wrong killer, then... everyone else is punished.**

 **Everything in this prologue appears in the game, albeit some inference was given towards Sayaka's POV.**

 **As for the rest of the series, it will contain many references to the series, but also the manga, and even though the series isn't necessarily a killing game, it is going to get real dark at times, so look out for that.**

 **Finally... do I have a fascination for clocks? Probably.**


	2. The Murder of Sayaka Maizono

**Before you read this, I advise a massive heads up for this chapter, in terms of maturity and spoilers.**

 **This chapter is a transition chapter, giving build up towards the events that the fan fiction will truly focus on. The content in this chapter is 100% adapted from the first chapter of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, with a point of view from two specific individuals as the first murder is committed in the Killing Game. As such, if you have played, seen, or know what happens in the game, this chapter is completely optional, and you can choose to skip to the next chapter. As for other readers, if you do not want spoilers for the first chapter, it is your decision to read this or not.**

 **Addressing the content in this chapter, it does contain some mature themes, such as swearing, and goes into heavy detail about scenic violence that some viewers might be sensitive to, especially in the 4th scene. This will be the only chapter this happens in, and will not continue as the main focus of the story begins. If I am required to change the rating of this story to 'M', or if I'm requested by moderators to remove this, it will not affect the outcome of the actual story, and I would be completely willing to take down the chapter, or to censor it at points for a more able reading experience. **

**For now, however, if you want to avoid graphic content as much as possible, but still want to understand future events and find out what happens here, then I would suggest skipping Scene 4. The first scene is completely safe, and the second and third scenes contain minor violence and minor swearing. Everyone has their individual limits for tolerance, so know when to call it if it becomes too much. Again, this will be the only chapter that I will have to give a warning this grand.**

 **And with that out of the way... enjoy!**

* * *

It had been almost a week since the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy started their killing game. As they were trapped in the enclosures of the school, with no way to contact the outside world, each student become wary of anyone around them. Over the course of a few days, any hope that radiated from the students had started to transform into deep despair, and once the supposed headmaster of the school, Monokuma, had given a motive towards the killing, it was only a matter of time before someone was to succumb to the despair in full.

And it just so happened to be Sayaka Maizono.

After the motive was presented, Sayaka experienced a despair-induced curiosity that forced the decision upon her to commit murder in order to escape the school. She had prepared a situation where a student who trusted her, Makoto Naegi, would swap rooms with her. She had composed a message to another, Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star, asking them to meet in what was supposedly her room. This was her intended victim, and once she was finished with him, she would swap the already swapped nameplates for her's and Makoto's rooms. They would both return their room keys in private, and then act as if she had been in her room the entire night. If so, the blame would be set on Naegi as the prime suspect. He would be voted guilty, and she would have her freedom once more.

And why would she betray her friends? Because she had to find out what had happened to her friends.

No, they weren't just her friends.

They were her life. And she was going to get her life back.

The clock in Makoto's room had just struck 1:15 am, so it had officially been nighttime for a little more than 3 hours at that point. Prior, Sayaka had left a note for Leon to meet at this time, so the only people that had reason to be awake were Sayaka and Leon. If anyone else was awake, they would be in their rooms, as they had all agreed on a rule among friends to not leave their dorm room at nighttime. They wouldn't be bothered by any noises coming from another's room either, as the walls were soundproof. So any commotion would be unheard outside the room. Sayaka was thankful for that, as she wouldn't want anyone intervening.

Sayaka was hunched against the scarlet wallpaper of the room, behind a corner that connected up to a small hallway to the room's door. To her right was Makoto's bathroom, of which the door apparently didn't fit the door frame correctly. In front of her were Makoto's bed and desk, a lint roller was also at the base of Makoto's bed on the blue-tiled floor. To the left of her wasn't anything special, except for a round table and a desk with a few cubbies for storage.

The only thing interesting was the golden sword on top of the desk, which Makoto had borrowed from the gymnasium in case Sayaka were to be attacked. It was unreliable, however, since the sword's golden coating easily stuck to a person's clothing or skin. She would not be able to wash it off, as the water was turned off during night time, so if Sayaka were to use it for the murder, surely some coating would get on her, and her alibi would be ruined.

So instead, Sayaka had prepared a kitchen knife as her weapon. The weapon that would ultimately be fatal for the victim. And she was currently clutching it in her hands, ready for her plan to be put into action.

And not too long after the clock had struck 1:15 am, her victim had made their way to their door.

* * *

Leon had no clue he had been targeted for murder, and he had no reason to.

What would he have done wrong for someone to kill him for? In perspective, the only person he had ever really made enemies of was the Ultimate Fanfic Writer. That fatso? Killing a star athlete? Completely unheard of, as far as Leon was concerned. Besides, the only thing he had done to anger him was that he expressed his distaste in the guy's massive size. Like, could he not spend some time away from a computer once and see the sunlight?

Everyone else, he had either been friendly to, become acquainted with, or exchanged glances with. Nothing that would drive a person over the edge and murder him for it.

That being said, he hadn't received much time to know of his peers if they were to be given a motive. He had no way of knowing how each individual person dealt with the burden of loved ones' lives on their shoulders.

He could try to understand based on his reaction to the video he had received. The clip of his baseball team; the players he acquainted, the management that trained him, and his motivation team; his parents and cousin. All of which were standing in the old field they trained in. One second, he was looking at their smiling faces. The next… the field was in ash. No trace of his loved ones, except for the marks of three dead bodies in the heap of ash. As he was trying to make sense of it, he heard the bear's dastardly voice.

"Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star. By day, he was the best high school baseball player his country had ever seen, so good that he had been scouted by many professional teams in the big leagues. He was very loyal to his team, and they thought he would never leave their side. But then… he decided to give up on his dream, and search for a new passion. After he left, the team seemed to have fell apart within little time! Without his helping hand, the dreams of his fellow teammates were shattered, and they never played baseball ever again. So, the question remains; what caused the team to crumble apart after Leon's tenure of resignation?"

Before he could've even fathom what he had witnessed, the words "FIND OUT ONCE YOU GRADUATE!" had appeared on the screen. He had so many questions, and he felt his curiosity getting the better of him. But he had been snapped back to reality once he had seen everyone else's reactions. This was very real, and it was the same for everyone else, which left Leon with the conclusion; whatever happened to his team, it was that asshole Monokuma's fault.

And he wouldn't give Monokuma what he wanted.

However, after the videos were all shown, and nighttime was almost upon them, he had been approached by the Ultimate Pop Sensation, _Sayaka Maizono_ , about a favor. She had asked him to be awake at around 1:00 am so she could talk to him about the motive.

So that's what he had done. He lay on his bed, waiting for something to happen. A knock on the door, a rattle of a doorknob… anything.

But he soon got his wish. Around ten minutes later, there was a light knock, and a piece of paper was slid under the door. Leon got out of bed to take a look, and found the note. It was from Sayaka. She had asked him to meet in her room five minutes from that moment. She had also been specific to check the nameplates so he wouldn't get the rooms mixed up. Why would he? He remembered that her room was down the hall to the left, and was one of the last rooms of the left on the way to the dining hall.

So when the clock struck 1:15 am, he started working his way to Sayaka's room. Or… what he assumed was Sayaka's room.

The thought that Sayaka wanted to see him, of all people, never really dawned on him. He had dismissed it as perhaps her first choice, Naegi, got in some sort of fight with her, and since he had spent the next most time with her, he was the next person to trust? Who was he to argue? There was no reason to anyways. If she needed his help, to deny that in such a dire time…

However, by the time he had reached Sayaka's dorm room, he realized that something was definitely wrong.

He had knocked a few times on the door to let Sayaka know he was there, but he had gotten no answer. Was she asleep? No, not possible. She had just been at his door five minutes ago. He knocked again.

He still got no answer. Was she perhaps taking a shower? Also not possible. The water was off in the school during nighttime. She had also agreed, along with the rest of the students, to stay in her room during nighttime, so aside from getting permission to slip the note under his door, she should be in the room.

Perhaps she wanted some sort of sign that the person at the door was truly him? She wouldn't open the door without knowing who the person was. What if she were to open the door, only to be killed while defenseless?

He decided to take off his necklace and cut a chunk of his hair off, and slide it under the door to Sayaka's room. He was the only student with red hair, and there was no way someone could've used scissors to cut his hair, so he thought it would be a good indication as to who the person at the door was.

He waited another minute for something to happen, alone with nothing but the sound of quiet ventilation surrounding him. Now, he was getting worried. Sayaka hadn't been in a good mindset the last he saw her. Sure, Makoto had calmed her down somewhat after she saw the video, but if she did have a fight with him, her status was quite reasonable. And if she still felt that way, could she have…

Leon grew very concerned. He had to make sure Sayaka was alright, and he had to get into her room somehow. He had thought about getting his toolkit from his room…

But he didn't need to. He had reached for the doorknob, pleading in his mind that the door was locked, pleading that she hadn't forgotten to lock the door, and someone had snuck in to murder her.

But hope like that… didn't exist in a hell like this.

The door had been unlocked.

* * *

Sayaka had heard the door open from behind the wall. Her target had taken the bait.

Leon's fears had been confirmed. The door was in fact unlocked. He couldn't risk dismissing it as "she forgot" no longer. Especially after he saw the state of the room.

Little did he know, what he was looking at was to lure him into the room.

He saw four slashes of something sharp near the middle of the room. Near the markings was Sayaka's room key. Among that, a round table and a chair had been tipped over onto the floor.

Leon grew wary. Someone had gotten into Sayaka's room, and Sayaka… could've been murdered.

However, the murder was yet to begin.

"Sayaka?" Leon let out a whisper. Whatever hope he had left, he needed it. In the off-chance she was still alive, he wished some sort of clue could be given to him.

Leon slowly moved farther and farther into the room, cautiously inspecting the room for evidence. He was at the point where he was nearing the wall Sayaka was behind.

He had expected the worst to be around the corner, possibly in the form of a dead body.

He hadn't expected a live one.

Sayaka jumped out from behind the wall, kitchen knife in hand, and attacked. It took Leon far beyond surprised. Before he could acknowledge what had just happened, he had been thrown to the ground by his attacker. Sayaka.

"Sayaka?! You're alive?"

Leon should've been thrilled she was still alive. At first, he thought perhaps she had scared away her attacker, and hid herself in case the attacker returned. But he soon realized what truly had happened. Sayaka had turned to face him, and Leon saw her face. Her teared, fearful, and among all… despair-induced face.

She was trying to kill him.

"Sayaka, th- the hell? Why me? We can talk about this- I can help!"

But it was no use. She was beyond reasoning. She took the kitchen knife into both her hands, and stabbed downwards. Leon swung his hands forward, clinging to her shaking hands, in order to prevent the knife from moving any further. He forced her hands to the side, and the knife fell from her clutches, dropping towards where Sayaka had been hiding.

She raced to grab it as Leon looked for a solution. Sayaka was blocking the door, so running was no use. However, he had noticed a fake gold sword on the table behind him. He rushed to his feet and removed the sword, still in sheath, from its perch on the table. Turning to face Sayaka once more, he hadn't realized how fast she had been with retrieving the knife, as she was lunging the knife a second time at him.

He had no time to unsheath the sword, so he decided to use the sheath itself to defend. He took both ends into his hands and reeled the sword forward to deflect the knife. It might've been a fake sword, but it proved to be a great use of defense, as the knife made contact with the sheath and was deflected.

The blow to the sheath had stunned Leon, both physically and mentally. He couldn't believe that had worked, and neither could Sayaka. They stood motionless for a second or two before Sayaka regained her focus and persisted her attack. Leon was brought back to reality, and began dodging her swipes as he tried taking the sword out of its sheath. After a bit of time, he threw the sheath to the ground, extending the fake sword in his hand, and proceeded to fight back.

He had completely forgotten himself, and was caught in the moment that he couldn't realize the graveness of his current actions. He was defending himself, that was true, but he was also fighting another student. One misstep, and…

But Leon was focused on the task at hand; to defend himself from Sayaka's attacks, so he could prevent himself getting murdered. Focusing the thought in his mind, he grew determined to stop Sayaka's attacks once and for all. He began analyzing Sayaka's movements, and found a weak spot in her stance.

And slashed downwards.

It hadn't matter that the sword was a fake. With Leon's strength, any blow with a weapon of that diameter would be enough to cause massive damage, and this was no different. Leon had hit Sayaka in the wrist, and had broken it. She cried out in pain, falling to the ground, dropping the knife in the process.

Now, the situation had taken an ironic turn. There now lay Sayaka, her back against the side of the bed, who began to realize the mistake she had just made. She had just tried to murder a friend for her own selfish needs, without even thinking of anyone else, and when her initial plan had failed, she had persisted her attacks.

And now, in front of her stood Leon, who himself materializing an expression of despair on his face. He had become engulfed in anger, that it was now him that could not be reasoned with, and even if he could, Sayaka would never risk it now. If she was fearful of her life before, she had all the right to be now.

Leon prepared himself for an attack, wanting to take control of the situation. Sayaka now knew that she could never take back what she had just done, and she was about to pay the consequence. Fearing her life, she took what little time she had and decided to trust her instincts.

Leon took no time to hesitate, and lurched forward to attack her. Sayaka straightened her feet to the floor and jumped out of the way as Leon swung. She trusted her instincts, and her instincts told her to hide in the bathroom.

Sure, it left her cornered, but Leon would not know of Makoto's faulty door, and could dismiss it as a female's bathroom door, which had locks on them, whereas male bathroom doors did not. Also, it would give her plenty of time to straighten out her thoughts and think of a plan, while tending to her wounds and catching her breath.

*Rattle rattle rattle*

Meanwhile, Leon was trying to open what seemed to be a locked door. Realizing it was locked, he grew frustrated, and slammed his fist against the wall.

"Damnit!" he thought to himself, "I can't let this psychotic bitch roam the school. What if she were to try to murder someone else, and pin it on me?"

He tried once more to open the door, but to no avail. He then remembered of the difference between male and female bathroom doors, and felt defeat upon himself.

 _Difference between male and female…_

An idea popped into his head, which left his face smiling. He had realized that the door wasn't the only differences to accommodate the male and female students. They had also received some tools for daily use, to make their lives more efficient. The females had received sewing kits, and the males…

Had received tool kits.

* * *

It had been ten minutes since Sayaka had fled into the bathroom. She was sitting with her back against one of the corners of the glass walls of the shower room. There wasn't really anything comfortable to lean against or sit on in the bathroom, and the modern look of the bathroom, with his dark grey walls, really didn't help her mood.

Granted, after what had just conspired, what would?

Among the dull scenery was the continuous sound of silence. She had not heard Leon in quite a while after he had stopped jiggling the doorknob. Was he waiting for her to leave the bathroom, in order for him to attack while her guard was lowered?

If not, and he had really left her room, could she try and make a run for her room key, so she could lock the door to Makoto's room?

No, she couldn't risk that either. Leon could've taken her room key from the floor, so she couldn't lock him out. That way, he could attack at any point in the night, and she'd have to be wary of every noise for the rest of the night. She was scared already. She didn't need to add paranoia to her list of feelings.

Fleeing from her room and hiding in another section of the school wouldn't work either, due to several reasons. For one, most of the school was forbidden during night hours, which would severely limit her options of hiding spots. She had also made that promise to the other students to stay in her dorm room for the night hours, so if they were to find her in her hiding spot, she would quickly become suspicious from then on.

And if Makoto were to return to his room… the room where the fight took place... to find it unlocked, destroyed, and empty, what would he do?

Even worse, what if it wasn't empty? What if Leon stayed in her room after she supposedly leave, and suspecting her to return at some point, he was caught by Makoto, and no choice but to… murder him?

Sayaka was cursing in her head, and she couldn't even curse out loud, because that would alert Leon. She was frustrated beyond measurable levels, and every ounce of frustration in her had absolute valid reasoning to it. She goes for the lock, she could die. She runs, she or Makoto could die, and if she lives, she becomes suspicious, and prone to attacks in the future if she were to explain that she had planned a murder for that night. This night.

Eventually, she began to cease her worrying, and decided to not focus on finding the best solution, but to stick to the safest solution. She would stay in the bathroom for the night, and when Makoto returned to his room, she would explain everything and apologize to him. It didn't matter whether he accepted or not, and it didn't matter what the other students would think of her.

She would still be alive. She would be given a second chance at life, and she would despair no lo-

*Clink*

Sayaka had heard the sound on the door, and grew wary of what was happening.

*Crrrkkkkk*

Another sound followed almost immediately after, which indicated to Sayaka that something was indeed happening outside of the door, and she hadn't just imagined it.

*Crrrkkkkk*

*Crrrkkkkk*

She was focused on the door, trying to figure out what was happening, but keeping her distance from the door in case something was to happen. It was hard to see in the dark, even after her eyes had grown used to the dark. But something did end up catching her eye.

It had been faint, but she could've sworn she saw something shine on the door, or rather… the door hinge.

*Crrrkkkkk*

Faint again, but she definitely saw another shine from the door hinge. Surely this wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her, right? If this was Leon, what was he doing on the other side that would be the cause of-

Sayaka froze. She knew what he was doing.

*Crrrkkkk*

Leon had returned to his room, and had retrieved his toolkit.

He was unscrewing the door of its hinges.

She scrambled to her feet in order to stand up. She began looking for some sort of weapon to defend herself from him, but all she found were toiletries and some towels, and she had dropped the knife in the bedroom when Leon had struck her wrist.

She was defenseless. She was doomed.

It hadn't taken much longer when Sayaka heard the sound of metal dropping to the floor, and the hinge of the doorknob began to come loose. She was at a loss of what to do. She had no options to prevent what was about to happen, and she became overwhelmed by her fear and anxiety.

She began to scream. The walls were soundproof, but she didn't care. She prayed someone, by some miracle, would hear her and come to her help. Makoto, Monokuma… anyone! She didn't want things to end like this. She didn't want to die.

"I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die!..."

Her constant cries of help grew more and more emotional, and it wasn't long before he began to lose her voice. But nothing was stopping what was unfolding. Leon wasn't listening to her pleas. He was determined to end what had started, while the power was in his hands.

*Clink*

One last screw had fallen to the ground. The sound of unscrewing had stopped. Sayaka restlessly waited for the door to open, and it wasn't much time after that she got her wish, and the door flew open.

Standing in the doorframe now was Leon. His face more determined than ever, brought to the point of insanity, to a point beyond despair. His right hand was holding the kitchen knife she had used to try and murder him, and now… he was going to murder her with it instead.

"Sayaka, why did you have to do this?" Leon questioned shakily, "We could've been great friends. I had so many questions about what it was like as a pop idol, what it was like to be a musician. But then... "

Leon stopped his sentence and began to grimly laugh, as if anything left of him at that moment was insanity itself.

"...but then… you tried to kill me. Now, answer me a question, because I'm having issues finding the answer to it… how do you expect me to let you out of this alive, just so you can find another victim…"

"... **and pin it on me, you crazy bitch?!** "

After he had yelled those words, Sayaka had tried to force some words out of her mouth to try and reason with him. To try and prove that she wouldn't do this ever again. She had taken a breath to try and speak to him.

But what came out wasn't the breath to speak.

It was the breath of pain.

It was her last breath.

Leon had thrusted forward… and stabbed Sayaka in the abdomen.

Sayaka made no movement. She stood where she had been stabbed, her red eyes wide, and her mouth open with surprise. The color began to drain from her face. Her arms began to go limp, and one last flow of tears fell from her eyes before she collapsed to the ground.

She began to lose feeling in her body, and her mind grew heavier than before, making it impossible to think clearly. She looked up at the person in front of her, now a silhouette, who seemed to be speaking to her, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Eventually, her eyes grew too heavy to keep open, and closed to rest.

With her last bit of energy, she thought of Makoto. She wanted to keep him and everyone else safe. To stop Leon. She brushed her hand against the blood stained on her shirt, and in her last seconds, wrote the name of the culprit on the wall behind her. And once she was done…

She allowed her arm to go limp. And she never moved again.

 _Victim #1: Sayaka Maizono_

 _Time of Death: 1:30 a.m._

 _Scene of the Crime: Makoto Naegi's bathroom_

 _Cause of death: Stab wound to abdomen_

 _Students remaining: 14._

* * *

 **Hey look! I was able to post two chapters of a fan fiction. Woohoo! New record!**

 **Here's to hoping that the content of this chapter wasn't too much on you. If it was, I am very sorry, and I promise that mature themes this grand will NEVER happen again in the story.**

 **So why did I include these themes in the first place, if I knew of the risks and had to post a giant warning because of it? Well, to address the swearing... these are high school students in their late teens. People already consist of an... _extended vocabulary_ to begin with, so imagine the situation these students are in. In short, I strive in my writing to make roles as believable and relatable as possible, and simply put, people cuss when frustrated or stressed. It's simply life.**

 **As for the inclusion of the violence, specifically with the murder scene, I was simply trying to follow the events of what conspires in the original story. And yes, I explained it in quite a bit of detail, but this was to give the reader a clearer understanding of the events. You can understand why Sayaka would be so fearful in the situation. You could understand why Leon would go through with his plan. You get an understanding of how a character feels in a certain situation, and in a way, you begin to feel the same way yourself. That way, you can genuinely make an effort to feel how that character is truly feeling. It's just my way of writing.**

 **By the way, this chapter was a hassle to write. It went through several re-writes, and I struggled quite a bit with deciding on how it should be written. Transition chapters are always the worst chapters to write, I assure you. But this is the one and only chapter that will be an adaptation of a scene in the game. Next chapter, the true story begins.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you all for reading :)**


	3. Dreaming

**I can't express enough my frustration towards this chapter, other than... "good riddance."**

 **This chapter was a nuisance. I know I was able to get those first two chapters; the prologue and first chapter, out within just one week, but that was back in April. It doesn't even matter that this half the size of the last chapter, this went through several re-writes so it wouldn't seem as if it wasn't dragging _on and on and on_... **

**There would've been more to the chapter as well; an additional scene to this, in order to begin the main plot of the story. However, this chapter was dragging on enough as it was. I can only picture that adding even more content to this chapter would've made this chapter even harder to get through for both myself and all of you. It's been too long since the last chapter as it is, so I omitted it. It will instead be how the next chapter begins.**

 **By the way, I am so amazed at the response the series has gotten so far. The story stood at 3 favorites and follows for a while, but within the past few weeks, that's been boosted into double digits. I am so glad people are enjoying the series, and this shows me that people are reading and enjoying my content, possibly receiving inspiration from it in turn. Thank you all so much for your support!**

 **Finally, for everyone who skipped the previous chapter due to its graphic content, I would once again like to apologize. It was such an important scene to the story, and with me, I strive to truly capture the emotion of a setting.**

 **To summarize, Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Idol, planned to commit a murder on Leon Kuwata by leading him into a trap, while utilizing her and Makoto swapping rooms for the night to pin the crime on him. The plan ultimately failed, and she presumably lost her life in turn. This chapter focuses on the result of that incident... and a struggle of reality and illusion.**

 **And with that... I hope this chapter isn't too tedious to read through. Here is Chapter 2! :)**

* * *

What happens in a person's last living moments? What goes on through their mind as they struggle to focus their thoughts, and pin together that they are about to die? When someone dies, what does the subconscious of a person experience? Is the theory of life after death true?

It seemed that Sayaka was about to find out.

In her last moments of life, Sayaka could feel herself drifting off, as if she was being pulled out of reality and into a dark, pitch black sea. Gravity seemed to have even more of an effect on her, and because of it, she struggled to move. She couldn't focus her thoughts.

She knew she had been stabbed, but anything after that was a mystery. She knew she was leaning against something. A wall, perhaps? Where, however, she couldn't remember.

Hazily, she let her eyes drift downwards. She noticed a finger on her left hand was covered in blood. She didn't remember anything happening to her finger to have that much blood on it. Why was it-

There might've been movement in front of her. She couldn't tell, her vision fading with each passing second. To her, everything appeared as silhouettes of dark grey and black colors, slowly being drowned out by a thick black shadow. Everything was blurry… her vision… her thoughts…

But one thought did stay clearer from the rest.

She had saved Makoto's life.

She didn't know how. The memory was fading into the blackness surrounding her, among all of her other memories as well. Somehow, however, she knew she had done something to save his life. Even though she had tricked him into switching rooms… even though she was going to murder someone, and pin it on Makoto…

She believed she had done something that had saved his life.

In her last moments, she closed her eyes, and pondered on the thought of his name. Why was that name so familiar? Was he the kid that... went to… the same school as her? Did he… do that thing that… one day, and… did he…?

Who… who was Makoto?

Makoto…

Makoto…

* * *

Sayaka couldn't focus on the 'what', or the 'how', or the 'why' of it. She had deceased.

What was now left of her was a subconscious, sailing a deep, black sea of nothingness. Nothing was happening. She was destined to sail this sea for all of eternity. No sight to behold. All that could be seen was complete darkness.

All that… could be seen?

Was Sayaka seeing this with her own eyes?

She didn't know it, but she had begun to grow self-aware of her situation, that she was sailing this sea of blackness. She had no way of knowing, she didn't even have the ability to 'know', but… somehow, she was making sense of her surroundings. Albeit, nothingness, but still… was it actually nothing? Was it actually something?

Without realization, she began hearing the sound of the ocean, as she continued drifting across the black sea of supposed nothingness. It was rather soothing, in a sense. Maybe this was her beginning to rest, her mind finally at peace?

Maybe it was…

Maybe…

May- be…?

She might've felt quite unconscious, but she was starting to place two and two together. Quite literally, in fact.

She was indeed thinking.

They were fuzzy, but there was no doubt. These were thoughts. This was inner dialogue she was having with herself, about a sea of blackness she was drifting across, with the quiet sound of the ocean backing it. If she was on a sea of blackness, was she sailing a ship? Things were still too foggy for her to understand, and the surrounding darkness around her… it was almost as if it was weighing her down.

She was feeling.

Wherever she was, whatever situation she was in… without a doubt, she literally felt something was holding her back. Everything around her was fuzzy, but it was there; the sounds, the sight, these thoughts, and the feeling… she was currently experiencing these senses, as if she…

Was she… actually... dead?

If she were supposedly dead, she wouldn't be having all of these thoughts, these feelings… this awareness to what was happening. It almost seemed as if she was…

...sleeping.

* * *

Sayaka felt the weight on her eyes lighten, regaining ability over her eyelids. She slowly felt her eyes open, as the black sea began to fade into a lighter shade of color, and the sound of the ocean began to dissipate.

She saw more darkness, but not the darkness she had seen beforehand. This darkness had variety. It had different shades and shapes to it. Part of what she saw was black, but there were also dark grey rectangles that she could see as well. It could've been some fancy modern designing, but… it appeared that these dark grey rectangles could also be… supports?

The next thing Sayaka had realized was that she was pinned down, but not completely. She was horizontal, and there was a large, thin, tarp-like object covering her body. The back of her body was against something somewhat soft, and comfortable. Was she in a hospital, perhaps?

She was struggling to focus on her thoughts, but they were coming back to her. By the time she had focused on them, she realized that she had regained movement in her body.

She slowly lurched herself leftwards to look at more of her surroundings, and took time to focus on what she was trying to look at. Eventually, she made out what looked to be a door frame, as well as a cubed object hanging on a wall. Everything was black, so she couldn't figure out what it could be.

She then forced herself to the right. She was able to make out something next to her almost instantly. A chair. It was facing the wall behind her, or rather… it was facing a desk.

It became apparent to her that the colors she was seeing weren't natural. Rather, there was no light against the shapes. A troubling thought came across Sayaka, which caused her to scramble to her feet from whatever she was lying on. Her thoughts began to become more and more real as she examined her situation. She had been lying in a bed.

She was in an unlit room. A dorm room. And quite alive.

Sayaka tried thinking back to what had transpired prior, and how she could've ended up in a dorm room after all of that. Going through some potential situations and denying them with evidence she knew of, her worries grew much more massive, and soon she became somewhat overwhelmed that she couldn't figure out what was going on.

She thought to leave the dorm room and look for someone who could provide her with some answers, but a problem struck her about that. She didn't know the time, and by the look of the pitch black room, it most likely was nighttime. Therefore, she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone, as they would all be sleeping.

She then noticed the sound of something ticking, and remembered that each room had a wall clock in it. She definitely wouldn't be able to tell the time in this darkness, but she soon remembered that there was a lamp above a round table in the middle of each dorm room. She started slowly working her way to what she assumed was the middle of the room. Cautious of her environment and situation, she still managed to trip on an object that was in front of her; what she assumed was the table.

Regaining her balance, she reached upward in suspicions of the existence of the perceived hanging lamp, and although she expected to touch something, she still jumped slightly when her hand made contact with a hanging object. Working her way towards the middle of the object, it dipped inwards to form a sort of upside down bowl, and in the middle of that bowl… was the lightbulb, and a switch to turn it on. Sayaka's curiosity allowed her to experience little hesitation, and she flicked it on.

What she saw next took her even more by surprise.

Throughout the whole situation; the bed, the sheets, the chair and table, and the lamp, it was clear to her that she was in a dorm room in Hope's Peak, or at the very least a room that imitated it. However, considering what she had pieced together from the events prior, she thought she might've been in Makoto's room.

But this didn't look like his room.

This looked like her room.

What first caught her attention were the pink sheets on the bed, which clearly struck her as odd. From what she remembered, she had been in Makoto's room in the events before current, and his bed having light blue sheets opposed to these pink ones. If she had been in Makoto's room, how did she get…

That sense of despair. The feeling... of the floor collapsing underneath you… of the sky falling down upon you.

For a moment, paralysis concealed itself over Sayaka as a sense of alarm and frighten became apparent to her. She remembered it all now; swapping rooms with Makoto, planning a murder, and the attack... going horribly wrong. Had it been true that she had succumbed to Monokuma's despair, and plotted to frame her best friend in the school for murdering a fellow student that, in truth… she had actually killed. She had plotted to pin the blame on Makoto, and once the votes were tallied for a false accusation, she would escape into the outdoors as all of her classmates would stand at her feet, deceased. Did she… actually feel that way? Was that her?

Confusion was added to this sense of despair, which was subsequent to many questions she had. If the murder had gone wrong, and she fled into the bathroom in Makoto's dorm… how did she get into a room akin to her own?

However, her hope had begun to return to her as she examined the room once more. She dismissed the possibility that Makoto's room had been modified to impersonate her room, as if it had been, there would've been permanent damage done to the room, from the supposed clash between herself and her target, Leon. With that being said, however, she was apart of a killing game set up by a living stuffed animal. Anything weird could happen, but there was one sure way she could make certain of her surroundings.

Lights still on, she worked her way past the bed, and towards the bathroom door. She knew of a way to prove her suspicions once and for all. She recalled that only the bathroom doors in the girls' dorm rooms had locks on them, but Makoto's door didn't fit in the doorframe, so there had been a special way to open it, which meant that, to her, Makoto's door was one of a kind. Analyzing the bathroom door would determine if this was truly Makoto's room or not.

Sayaka observed the knob on the door; silver, newly polished, mint condition… and had a lock dial in its center. There was no doubt about it; this door was similar to the doors in the female dorm rooms. This couldn't possibly be Makoto's room, and as Sayaka observed the other aspects of the dormitory; the pink sheets, the pink pillow, and finalized by looking through drawers and finding every single item of her's right where she had left it.

It was very clear to her; she had just experienced a nightmare.

It was quite odd to feel so extremely relieved to be in a killing game, but Sayaka had been pushed to the point of insanity and irrationality that she felt the need of killing someone she called her friend, and wanted to frame her best friend in the school for her crime in order to kill every last classmate and escape back into the real world.

But all of that planning; asking Makoto to swap rooms, sending that note to Leon that would lead him to the room she was in, breaking a rule amongst friends to stay in the dormitory in the night hours, and travelling to the dining hall to retrieve a knife from the kitchen to kill...

And then this nightmare of the situation going horribly wrong; with Sayaka beginning her attack on Leon, only for him to counter and ultimately overpower her, and becoming trapped in Makoto's bathroom with no method of escape, as Leon worked his way through to unlocking the bathroom door, through every emotional, appalling, nightmare of every second of anticipation of imminent death…

None. None of it had actually happened… and Sayaka could not be happier she was still trapped in this academy.

From this realization of hope came determination, and right there… Sayaka made a pledge, bringing her clenched fist towards her chest; she would never let anyone fall victim to despair ever again. Even if it costed her her life, she would try to help her classmates through thick and thin, to allow hope to triumph despair. To stay true to her status as the ultimate idol, and be that beacon of hope that people could look up to.

So no one would ever feel they ever had to partake in this blasted killing game.

Renewed with new energy, and empowered with newfound determination, Sayaka had begun to work her way to her front door when a thought occurred to her. With a second thought, she checked the time. It was 2:30 in the morning. Everyone would be in their rooms, sound asleep. In addition, there was the rule they all abided to, to stay in the dormitory during night hours. If she made a commotion at a time like this, she was certain people would not be pleased.

Sayaka decided it would be best to wait for the morning hours, and to get some sleep to prepare for the following day. She knew tomorrow would be crazily eventful, and she would have to be as ready as possible, in order to face everything in her path. She had strong belief in that, and not because she knew of the future… she just knew she had strong intuition.

But even her intuition could never predict what exactly was in store for her. The trouble with hope is, unbeknownst to a person or a party, it can be created falsely, and the power of despair feeds on this false hope because of how quickly it can crumble, and bring people to their knees.

Sayaka had no way of knowing, but the hope she had so much belief in; that she used to form this plan of hope and determination, would be defeated swiftly by the hands of despair.

As she did not know it, but she was too late to save her friends lives…

Far… far too late.

* * *

 **...I think you guys can understand my frustration towards this chapter. Transition chapters are certainly the most annoying and tedious chapters to write, and the chapters readers probably hate the most, but they're so fundamental to the progression of the story that they have to be included. It is what it is, unfortunately. Let's answer some potential questions!**

 **Sayaka falls victim to a dark abyss, approaching death as her life is slowly fading from her, and she begins to forget some important things. In the event that Sayaka would be in, I believe that as your entire body would be shutting down and turning numb, it would become harder for yourself to retain control over your key components of your body; such as arms, legs, and brain. As her energy is fading from her, her memories would probably be engulfed by that same blackness, and it would become much, much harder to remember or even focus on simple thought processes.**

 **To add clarity, she did in fact wake up in her dormitory, or a room that was specifically designed to imitate her's, from a supposed nightmare she had from the despair that she had succumbed to. That's pretty much a generalization of what happened. I know it's ridiculous of how easy it is to explain, but once again, those are transition chapters for you. They may not appear to be, but they are incredibly fundamental to a story, especially in this circumstance.**

 **But there still are questions left to answer, to which Danganronpa would never leave a stone unturned; what meaning does that give to anything that happened in the previous chapter? If it was a nightmare, why did it feel so real to Sayaka?**

 **What I'm also really excited for in the next chapter is that, with the way I've ended off this chapter, even fans of the series, with knowledge of what happens, would presumably also not know why she _"would be too late to save her friends lives"_. With the way I've ended off here, I hope that this also allows fans and newcomers alike to ask themselves questions and speculate of what will happen.**

 **And what will happen? You'll have to tune in to the next chapter to find out! :D**

 **Take care everyone, and as always, criticism is always appreciated, as it allows me to improve my writing to better benefit all of you!**


End file.
